Magnetic -
Puzzles and Games

Helpful Hints
from Tally Ho

The StormNim 2 D

Queens on a GridNim 3 D

CoinsMancala

Music PuzzleX-O-X

MapDraughts (Checkers)

Numbers in a TinKing Me(Fitchneal)

Turtle PuzzleHexxed!

Gold BallsMost
Boxes

Colours PuzzlePinball

Cube PuzzleBlock-It

AnagramsCross Words

Dissected SquareBowling

SequencesChess

TessellationPawns

Key-PadLinks

DominoesPaint
Cans

After you solve three puzzles and master the games that accompany them, you will
find the "Transporter" activated. Move your mouse to the upper-left corner to
see your companion appear there. Click, and you are taken to a page that
resembles this index. Any games you have mastered are framed, and any other
games you have revealed but not mastered are shown without their frames. Any
time you wish to repeat the "reward" music and accompanying movie, click on a
frame.

The
StormNim 2 D

Two-Dimensional "Nim"

If
you read the message from your companion, you know that there several (sixteen
in all) mind-boggling games created by the companions, and hidden away, or
locked behind various puzzles. There is no actual introductory puzzle required
to access this first game; it was revealed by the storm. The first game you
encounter in the game of Magnetic is based on the ancient game if Nim. As with
several other games, the ultimate object is to be the last player to have a
turn. In this case, it means being able to remove the last piece. (This is a
variation on the traditional game, where the player forced to take the last
piece loses.)

The
rules are simple: When it is your turn, you may remove one, two, or three
pieces. When it is the computer's turn, the same rule applies.

How
the controlling device works: If you decide you want to go first, pull the lever
toward yourself by clicking on the right edge of the wooden handle and dragging
slightly to the right. If you want the computer go first instead, pull the lever
toward the playing field by clicking on the left edge of the wooden handle and
dragging left.

At
your turn, decide how many pieces you should remove, and click on them. When you
are satisfied with one or two, click on the handle to make the computer take its
turn. If you remove three, the computer automatically takes its turn.

If
you have trouble working out the logic of this game, click on the link below to
see a description of the technique guaranteed to win every time.

The logic behind a winning game is fairly simple.
Since neither you nor the computer can take away more than three pieces, you
should plan to make the computer choose from a group of four pieces
at its final turn. Since it can't remove everything; but is forced to take at
least one, you will be left with one, two or three pieces at your turn, and can
win.

But
what to do when there are many pieces? Simply count them all, and leave the
computer with any multiple
of four at its turn. Four, eight, twelve or sixteen will work.
Therefore, if you see eight pieces at the start, make the computer go first. If
instead, you see ten, go first yourself and take away two, leaving eight. Always
finish your turns by leaving multiples of four, and you are guaranteed to win.

Queens on a GridNim 3 D

You
are faced with a 4 x 4 grid. Clicking on any square places a Queen on that
square. The object of this puzzle is to place four queens so that each one
occupies a unique row and column. If you place one that coincides with another
already in place, it knocks the first one away. Maddening, isn't it?

Actually, the 4 x 4 is not too hard, and it gives you some idea of how to
discover a concept that will work with larger grids.

X

X

X

X

A
very similar pattern works for the 6 x 6 grid:

X

X

X

X

X

X

Now
for the Biggie:

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Three-Dimensional Nim

(Getting to
the Two-Dimensional Nim wasn't much of a challenge; it was revealed by a passing
storm. Getting in here, however was more of a job. Those Queens are fusssy! The
rules of this game are a little different, too. They reflect a different
variation on the ancient game. Here is a clip from a
Website describing how to play:

First, the counters are divided into several heaps. At your turn you remove as
many counters as you wish from one heap. You must remove a minimum of one
counter from the heap and may remove the whole heap if you wish.

In
our game, we don't have 'heaps' or 'rows' but colors. So, you may remove any or
all of the color you select. You may also force the opponent to go first, if you
desire. As before, you want to control the removal of the pieces so that you get
to take the last one, leaving your opponent with no move.

It
helps to establish symmetry. Look for colors that are equal in number, and
remove all the pieces of the remaining color. For example, you start with four
blue, four gold, and three white. Take away the white ones. Then, after you
opponent moves, restore the symmetry so he is left with equal numbers of each
color. Keep doing that, and you can win.

CoinsMancala

The Coins

To
get to the Mancala Game, you must solve another puzzle arranging sixteen coins.
Look at the images. They represent a Castle, a Knight on a horse, a Bishop,
King, Queen, and a Foot-Soldier (Pawn.) Set them up as a Chess-Board layout.

The
trick is to nudge the big coins tightly together, and align the pawns neatly
over them. Aren't they beautiful?

How
to find it? From the No Fishing/No Pets sign, go forward three times. (to get to
the No Fishing sign, start at the Beach Bowling scene. Turn right seven times,
then F8, R, F2, L, F7.)

Mancala, an ancient African Game

Once you solve the coins puzzle, you have access to what is proclaimed to be the
oldest game in the world!
It is played all over Africa, with various rules.

The
rules of this game, if you haven't figured them out, are as follows: The bowls
on the bottom belong to you, and the large bowl at the right is your goal. The
primary object of the game is to collect more pieces in your goal
than the opponent gathers in his.

See
the little 4's? that tells you that you are beginning with four pieces in each
bowl. When you select one of your bowls, all the pieces in that bowl are picked
up and distributed one at a time in the adjacent bowls. If the last piece
distributed in a turn lands in the goal, you get another turn. If the last piece
distributed in a turn lands in an empty bowl, and if the opponent's bowl
opposite that one contains any pieces, you capture those pieces and they all go
into your goal, along with the last piece you dropped. Once pieces are in either
goal, they are safe and cannot be lost.

When either player completely clears his side, all the pieces belonging to the
other player go into the other player's goal. Thus, it would be to your
advantage to accumulate many pieces in one of your bowls, and let the opponent
clear the other side. Care must be taken to protect your stash, by insuring that
the opponent's bowl opposite your full one, is never empty; preventing their
capture. You would do this by sending some of your pieces around to the far side
at times.

You
go first, so it would seem advantageous to select bowl three, since the pieces
will be dropped into four, five, six, and the goal, giving you another turn.
Here are the first several moves to get you off to a good start: 3, 6, 5, 6, 2.
If you need to bail out, and would like to see a complete winning sequence
(there are many more ways to win than this)
Click Here.

One
combination of moves that will get you through this game is this:

3,
6, 5,
6, 2, 2,
6, 5, 6,
2, 2, 5,
1, 2.

Here's another one; a little shorter, but with fewer pieces to your credit.
(A win is still a win!)

Music PuzzleX-O-X

High up on a hill is a box with a lever and five large buttons. Pressing any
button results in a musical selection playing. The position of the five pieces
is determined when you open the puzzle, and will be different if you re-open it,
and what's more, they may be different pieces. There are several more than five
to draw from. (To find your
way here, start at the Wazzidor Bay sign. Turn left twice, and
climb the hill eight steps. Or, from the Beach Bowling, R3, F5, L, F8.)

The
object of this puzzle is for you to memorize these five pieces by next Sunday
afternoon, when you will play them for an audience of at least 50 people,
composed of your friends and family. (Just kidding.) You do, however need to
learn enough about these five musical selections to be able to identify them
upon hearing them again.

What you do is this: Press the buttons as often as you like, and try to
distinguish between them. I know it's an advantage to be musical, but even if
you think you have a "tin ear" or call yourself tone deaf, you can do this, it
just takes a little understanding. Listen to the tunes, and try to apply your
own adjectives to them. Pick out the loudest one, for example, and the softest
one. Are any of them "bangy" or "smooth" or "sad" or "jumpy" or whatever quality
you can think of? There are only five, and I'm sure you can find a way to do it.
Sorry, because it's random, I can't provide a firm answer.

Once you think you can tell them apart, pull the lever. One of the tunes will
play, and you must press the button that played that same music when you pressed
it before. If you are correct, another tune will play, expecting you to press
its button. If you get one wrong, it starts over at the first one. Completing
all five opens the next game in the tower atop the hill.

The
only way you cannot do this puzzle is if you are truly deaf, and cannot hear the
sounds at all. If that is the case, you will have to enlist the help of a
hearing person. There is not, to my knowledge, a short-cut or cheat.

Tic-Tac-Toe (XOX)

As
you start this game, you will find that you have very little (none, that is)
control over where the pieces go. Even if you are good at this game, you will
lose at first. That's because "you" are the robot on the left, and your opponent
is the robot on the right.

After losing four or five games, the lamp in the belly of your robot will start
to glow. Now you can open it, and make some adjustments to the robot's settings.
Find the stack of cards. You should spread them out, with the least desirable
pattern on the left, and the most desirable pattern on the right.

Now
that the robot has been optimized, you should have no trouble getting to eight
wins, even if the opponent happens to win one or two along the way.

Arrange the cards in such a way so as to encourage a win and discourage a loss.
Lots of arrangements will work just fine. The one pictured here seems to work
pretty well.

When you see the big White Birch tree against the rocks, find the hotspot to
open this image. Once you've seen it, you will be able to play Checkers. To find
it: Start at the Beach Bowling scene, and go F8, L.

Checkers (Draughts)

The
hot-spot that accesses this game is not available until you have seen the clue
pictured above. To find this place, start at the Beach-Bowling location. Turn
right seven times, then F2, L, F, L. You see a large rock that takes up most of
the right half of the scene, with some scrubby trees in the center and some
patchy sun at the left. The spot is at the base of those trees, down in the
darkest part of the picture.

Rules of the game: Your pieces are white, the opponent's, red. You can only move
diagonally, and you cannot go backward unless you reach the opposite side of the
board. If you are adjacent to an opponent's piece, and the space beyond is open,
you capture the opponent by jumping over it. If a capturing move is available,
you must take it, even if other moves are possible. One side wins by capturing
all the other side's pieces. White goes first. This is a scaled-down version of
the original game, where the board is 8 x 8 and each player starts with eight
pieces.

I
have chosen not to elaborate on a series of moves; this is not a particularly
difficult game, even though the computer plays it's best, the human player can
win. It's a big advantage to have the first move, and the best move on this
board is to choose the center piece first.

Numbers in a TinKing Me(Fitchneal)

The
preliminary puzzle is one of the toughest, and so it should be. The game that
follows is equally difficult. To find it: Start at the Beach Bowling scene, and
go F10, L2, F3.

High up on a hillside is a cute little tin box that originally contained some
charming photos. Now it contains a brain-busting puzzle wherein you must set up
an equation to yield the desired result. There has been some discussion about
the rules of sequence, that is, do you add first or multiply first, and where
are the parentheses when you need them?

In
any case, if you have fiddled with the numbers at all, your companion showed you
a very important clue already. It probably came after you accidentally solved
one of the eight formulae. He says, "Tricky! He started counting at zero." Also,
the picture in the book reveals the settings that will produce zero. It reads: 1
+ 4 ÷ 2 - 3

By
the way, you will discover that you can use each numeral only once, and the
mathematical operators add, subtract, multiply and divide, only once as well.

I
would prefer to write the above expression thus: 1 + (4 ÷ 2) - 3. The
parentheses dictate to do that operation first, so four divided by two is two,
then one plus two minus three is zero.

Your job is to find mathematical expressions that equal all eight numbers from
zero to seven. Once you have discovered them, you must (accurately!!) insert
them in order.

Need a spoiler for the expressions? I will assume you are being a sport, and
only want to see one at a time.

Zero - check your companion's book or see above.

One

2 +
3 - 4 ÷ 1

thiks of it this way:

(2
+ 3 - 4) ÷ 1 = 1

or
2 + 3 - (4 ÷ 1) = 1

Two

3 x
2 - 4 ÷ 1

Picture it thus:

(3
x 2) - (4 ÷ 1) = 2

Three

1 +
2 x 3 - 4

Remember, multiply first -

1 +
(2 x 3) - 4 = 3

Four

4 ÷
2 - 1 + 3

or
this way:

(4
÷ 2) - 1 + 3 = 4

Five

4 +
1 x 3 - 2

Multiply first:

4 +
(1 x 3) - 2 = 5

Six

4 x
2 - 3 + 1

or

(4
x 2) - 3 + 1 = 6

1 +
4 x 4 - 3 also works (commutative property)

4 x
2 - 3 + 1

or

(4
x 2) - 3 + 1 = 6

Seven

1 +
4 x 4 - 3 also works (commutative property)

1 +
3 ÷ 2 x 4

I
don't understand why this one works. D'oh!

This is a truly fascinating game I had not encountered before playing Magnetic.
It is very old, as are many of the games we encounter here. This one is of Irish
origin. Here is an excerpt from a page describing the rules and strategy:

Unlike Chess, or Checkers which are fought by armies from opposite sides of the
board, Tafl (Fitchneal) games involve a single king and his defenders in the
center of the board surrounded by an army of attackers twice their number. The
basic rules are that the defender starts with the king in the very center of the
board and defended by his pawns, or guards. The defender wins if the king is
able to break the siege by escaping to the edge of the board (or to a
corner hole in some variations). The attacking army wins by surrounding the king
on four sides to capture him. All of the pieces move any number of spaces
left, or right, or up, or down, in the same manner as a rook in Chess. "Pawns"
may be captured by trapping them between two of your own pieces.

Magnetic's version of this game is interesting because you can choose to be the
attackers or the defenders. It turns out, you are better off defending,
because the options allow you a slight edge. Here is the original setup:

Isn't that amazing? There are twice as many attackers as defenders, but the
defense has an edge. Some brilliant Viking understood the value of protection.

Interesting stuff, no? There seems to be some vague connection between this game
and Nine Men's Morris (which I consider to be a much more difficult game, only
because of it's apparent simplicity and actual variables. N-M-M is Tic-Tac-Toe {XOX}
for masochistic grownups, and gets my vote for the most difficult board-game
around, given a skilled opponent.) In fact, in the adventure game "Drowned God"
the developers actually had to build in a weakening of the opponent, predicated
on several losses by the player, or it would have been impossible to surpass.

Anyway, down to business. There are many paths to success in Fitchneal, and it's
fun to play. I encourage you to experiment and learn something about the
strategy.
Click here if you want to see one winning
pattern.

Label the colums from left to right:
A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I

Label the rows from bottom to top 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9

(It
doesn't matter if you label it backwards, the board has four-way symmetry!)

To
find it: From the No Fishing/No Pets sign, turn left and go forward once. (to
get to the No Fishing sign, start at the Beach Bowling scene. Turn right seven
times, then F8, R, F2, L, F7.)

See
how the Turtle has three missing scutes on his shell? You have to solve three
puzzles to make the missing scutes reappear, and complete the shell. Then you
can proceed to the Hexagon game.

Click on the turtle. You will see a pattern develop above the turtle, and
another pattern develop above the control-box. Your job is to adjust the control
box settings so that its pattern matches the one created by the turtle.

The
third button controls the number of repetitions, 1 being the most, and 5 being
the least.

The
fourth button causes the image to rotate as it renders. 1 is the most to the
left, 4 is no twist, and 7 is the most to the right.

I
cannot provide an absolute set of answers, because they change from game to
game. You will simply have to learn the functions and make the adjustments. It's
not hard to do, but just wait 'til you get into the game that follows. Aaarghh.

Hexxed!

To
tell the truth, I had trouble coming up with any solid strategy. One player
provided the following suggestion, and it seems to give you enough advantage to
win.

Place your first piece in the second row, second column from the top. If you
label the Orange side A, B, C, D, E, F (left to right) and the Blue side 1, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6 (top to bottom) your starting spot is B2. You will notice that the
computer most often starts in C2.

Work your way down, trying to keep a double option open as you go. This means
you might have to use column C sometimes. Notice at the top, how you have the
choice of B1 or A1. Use the same idea as you approach the sixth row, making it
so you have two places to go, such as B6 and C6. With the double choice, you
can't be blocked.

Gold BallsMost Boxes

To
find it: From the No Fishing/No Pets sign, go forward once and turn left. (to
get to the No Fishing sign, start at the Beach Bowling scene. Turn right seven
times, then F8, R, F2, L, F7.)

Click on the rock to begin a randomized puzzle. Observe that when you click on
one of the 25 spaces, whether it is glass or gold (empty or full?) it and all
it's neighbors change their state. Your goal in this puzzle is to change all the
spots to gold. It's pretty easy, once you understand the hints. Look to the
lower-right of the screen, and underneath the arrow, is a book containing the
following five pages.

What you need to do, is start at the top, working your way downwards to the
bottom. Use the second row to change the spots in the first row; and use the
third row to fix the second row, and so on. Do this until the first four rows
are completed, and you are left with one of the above patterns. Notice that the
third and fourth pattern are reversible because they are not symmetrical. See
also that the first and second patterns show two places encircled at the top.
This means that you may select either one, they both work.

Having identified which pattern you have arrived at, start again at the top row,
beginning with the item circled. If you then complete the rows in order from the
top down, you will arrive at the bottom with a pattern that allows you to
complete the sequence. (The five patterns above cannot be completed by fiddling
with the bottom one or two rows, you must establish parity by starting correctly
at the top. Each time you finish the pattern, the cavern to your right opens a
little more.

Get the Most Boxes

The
object of this game is for you to end up owning more boxes than your opponent.
There are 25 available squares, so any time you can take thirteen or more, you
will win, and whenever your opponent has already taken 13 or more, you will
lose.

It
begins with some of the line segments in the 5 x 5 grid already selected. If you
can find any boxes with three sides already selected, select the fourth and take
possession of that box now. If you don't do it, your opponent will. In the
beginning, you should avoid selecting a segment that will provide a three-sided
box, it's a give-away to your opponent. When a player completes a box, he goes
again (and again, and again, as long as there are three-sided boxes available.)

As
the game progresses, and "safe" segments beecome harder to find, you will
eventually have to provide your opponent with some squares. Examine the layout,
and figure out ways to give away the least. If you can find a two-sided square,
where providing the third side will allow the opponent to take that box, but not
be able to continue with a string of others, that's the best move. Likewise,
look at the other strings. If you must choose between giving away three squares
or five, obviously it's a better choice to give away the three, and force your
opponent to give you the five.

Colours PuzzlePinball

To
find this area,
start at the Beach-Bowling. Turn R3, F5, R.

The
preliminary puzzle to the Pin-Balls is the Wazzidor Bay Lookout color puzzle.
Clicking on the Word "Wazzidor" scrambles the colors in the word. It is up to
you to arrange the colors according to a clue you found on a small piece of
paper elsewhere. (To find the paper clue, start at the Beach-Bowling scene.
Turn right seven times, then F2, L, F, L2, F3 and look in the fallen tree.)The
sequence of colors was randomly selected especially for you, so you must locate
that piece of paper in order to solve the puzzle. Hint: Think like Noah's Ark;
two-by-two. Solving the puzzle results in the hillside opening to your left.

The
paper clue will not change during your game; however if you start a whole new
game with a different companion, the order of the colors will be a new
selection, and you must locate the clue anew.

Falling Pin-Balls

The
object of this game is to accumulate eight balls on your side before the
opponent does. Clicking on any one of the four balls at the top causes that ball
to tumble through the levers until it either reaches bottom, or lands on a
platform. If the next player sends a ball downward so as to trigger the lever
where your ball is resting, then both balls will fall. If a player sends a ball
down in such a way as to land on top of a ball sitting on a platform, both balls
will also fall until one or both reaches bottom, or gets trapped on another
platform. If either player at his turn, gets the ball he released, along with
all that had been sitting on any platforms, he gets another turn.

Notice the symmetry in the levers here. The two
in the left column are both to the left, the two middle ones are both
left, and the ones in the right column are also the same. Whether they are
left or right is unimportant, so long as both levers in each column match.
With this configuration, you are guaranteed to win.

Here, you would drop the third ball, causing the middle and right levers
to all change. Then, both the second and fourth balls will drop clear
through. Since you go first, and you each drop one ball at a time, you get
the eighth ball before your opponent.

Now, it's fun to beat the computer starting with any pattern, but it's
darned hard, in my opinion. There's a way you can rack up eight wins, but
it's not very sporting. If you develop any ability for this game, have at
it, and enjoy. If you reach your frustration limit and simply want to
trudge through eight boring games.

Since you know how to win when the levers in each column match, you want to
always start that way. How to do it? Do not back out of the game using the right
mouse button. Instead, go to the top left of the screen, and open the
transporter. Transport directly back into the Pinball game through the
transporter. This way, you do not lose credit for the games you have won. Keep
transporting back in, until you see the pattern where you know you can win.
Boring, but it works.

Cube Puzzle color="#000000">Block-It

To
find it: Start at the Beach Bowling scene. Turn right seven times, then F5.)

You
must assemble seven blocks to create a cube. If you place a cube in the wrong
sequence, they all jump back to the starting point. It's a puzzle. C'mon now,
you can figure it out. If you just cannot,

To solve the cube, choose the pieces in this order:

Light Blue
Purple
Pink
Dark Blue
Yellow
Orange
Green.

(The first two are reversible; the others must come in order.)

Block-It (Dominoes)

The
object of this game is to ensure that you have the final turn, by
placing your orange blocks so as to prevent the computer from placing any more.
Your blocks are always horizontal, and your opponent's are always vertical. The
general strategy is to create and save a horizontal spot for last, while
obstructing the opponent so he can't do the same thing to you.

You
always go first, so your first position is very important. Experiment with the
3x3 grid. If you start in a corner, you always lose, and if you start in the center row,
you always win.

The
4x4 is not so obvious. If you start on any edge, you will lose. Instead, start on an inside block,
for example, row 2, column 2. You will be able to beat the opponent this way.
Here's a couple of examples with one move to go.

The
pattern can take several variations, but the idea remains the same.

Here's some suggestions for the 5x5 grid. Start again in the second row.

The
remaining 6, 7, and 8 grids are a struggle to be sure, but apply the knowledge
you have learned by getting through the 5 x 5, and you will make it.

AnagramsCross Words

Down on the rocks overlooking the ocean, is a puzzle where you have to solve
some six-letter anagrams. You may have found a clue lying around, that indicated
two spots on the Anagram puzzle; one that selects a "New Word," and one that
executes a "Shuffle." (to
find the clue from Beach Bowling, go forward six.)

To
find the anagram puzzle: From the No Fishing/No Pets sign, turn right and go
forward once. (to get to the No Fishing sign, start at the Beach Bowling scene.
Turn right seven times, then F8, R, F2, L, F7.)

Each time you correctly solve an anagram, the rocks open up slightly more. Click
on the red stain at the right side to bring up the next word. Click on the left
end of the rock to shuffle. You can use the shuffle feature to rearrange the
letters, hoping they will look more familiar and you will be able to come up
with the word. You can even use the shuffler after you have partly solved the
word. If you bail out, and request a new word without solving the current one,
the rocks will close and you must begin again. You must solve six words in a row
to open the rocks completely.

If
you fail a few times, your companion will give you a big hint - the starting
letter never goes beyond "D" in the alphabet.

Here's a way to cheat: Take the six letters to
This Internet Site and plug them in. It
helps to set the "Maximum Number of Words option, at one.

(This puzzle and it's accompanying game were written assuming the players were
English-speakers. Peter is working on a variation for non-English speakers.)

Down on the rocks overlooking the ocean, is a puzzle where you have to solve
some six-letter anagrams. You may have found a clue lying around, that indicated
two spots on the Anagram puzzle; one that selects a "New Word," and one that
executes a "Shuffle." (to
find the clue from Beach Bowling, go forward six.)

To
find the anagram puzzle: From the No Fishing/No Pets sign, turn right and go
forward once. (to get to the No Fishing sign, start at the Beach Bowling scene.
Turn right seven times, then F8, R, F2, L, F7.)

Each time you correctly solve an anagram, the rocks open up slightly more. Click
on the red stain at the right side to bring up the next word. Click on the left
end of the rock to shuffle. You can use the shuffle feature to rearrange the
letters, hoping they will look more familiar and you will be able to come up
with the word. You can even use the shuffler after you have partly solved the
word. If you bail out, and request a new word without solving the current one,
the rocks will close and you must begin again. You must solve six words in a row
to open the rocks completely.

If
you fail a few times, your companion will give you a big hint - the starting
letter never goes beyond "D" in the alphabet.

Here's a way to cheat: Take the six letters to
This Internet Site and plug them in. It
helps to set the "Maximum Number of Words option, at one.

(This puzzle and it's accompanying game were written assuming the players were
English-speakers. Peter is working on a variation for non-English speakers.)

Crossword (Sort of)

This game is a variation of the popular board game Scrabble, except that you
only have one letter at a time to place, and the tiles have no point value. You
alternate placing letters with the computer-opponent. Your score comes when you
create a word. It is a big advantage if you create crossing words, for you get
points for both of them.

( I
found it frustrating that so many words I tried should be valid words, but
received no score because they are not in the lists available to the computer.
Peter explained to me that he didn't want the computer to come up with a lot of
unusual words.)

All
it takes to win is a final score larger than your opponent. You may think, since
it is a 5 x 5 board, that once you (or your opponent) gets to 13, the game is
over, but not so. Because of the cross-scoring feature, it is possible to reach
surprising sums, and it "ain't over 'til it's over!"

Dissected SquareBowling

After you solve a puzzle where you fit odd-shaped pieces together to form a
square; you will enter a darkened chamber. To find it: Start at the Beach
Bowling scene, and go F11, L. Once you solve the square, go into the opening. If
you click the mouse button, it turns on a "flashlight" (torch) allowing you to
examine a photograph that has apparently been left out in the sun. It has become
pretty faded, but there is a faint image, barely visible in one corner, that
will enable you to open the next major puzzle.

The
Square The Hotspot

See the faint fractal?

Find the Fractal image in the lower left-hand corner of the strangely-colored
scene. To help identify the location of the scene, notice the large reflected
boulder on the far right, and the cracks in the rock that seem to say "ISA" on
the left, above the fractal. To find the correct scene, from the Square puzzle,
turn right and go down eleven times; or start at the 2-D Nim game (the first one
you encountered) and go down once, and turn right. It's right there!

Bowling on the Beach

How
to find the Beach-Bowling? The hot-spot is not active until you have seen the
clue that shows you where it is. Solve the Dissected Square. The bowling game is
right next to the first game, Two-Dimensional Nim.

As
with many other games in Magnetic, the object is for you to take away the last
piece. You can choose to go first (the gold ball is yours,) or make the computer
go first by clicking on the blue ball. You and the computer can strike one pin
directly, or two adjacent pins by bowling between them. You must decide who goes
first by examining the pattern of the pins. Let's look at an example:

Remember the Nim game, where you won by leaving the computer with multiples of
four? You can use a somewhat similar tactic in this game, except it's not the
absolute numbers that matter, it's the symmetry. What that means is, there
should be matching groups
when it's the computer's turn to go. In the above setup, there are two groups of
two (that's good - leave them alone) and a group of three and a group of four.
This time, you should go first, and pick a pin from the end of the group of
four, changing it into a group of three. It is not the position of
the groups that matters, it's the equal numbers.

If
the starting setup contains equal groups, make the computer go first. Whatever
it does, you will be able to restore the symmetry at your turn.

If
all fifteen pins are there at the start, you should go first and remove the
center one, leaving seven and seven.

For
starters, count the total number of pins visible. If it is an even number, make
the computer go first. Then deal with the pattern.

There is another approach you can take, but it's not very sporting. For those
who have reached their frustration limit, and simply want to forge through the
bowling game,
Click Here to see a spoiler.

Don't bother trying this technique until you understand how to handle the
symmetry.

If
you don't like the pattern you see, you can re-set the pins this way: Do not
back away from the puzzle by right-clicking. Instead, go to the transporter at
the upper-left, open it, and re-enter the bowling game directly. This way, you
will not sacrifice any wins you have already achieved.

Examine the new pattern to determine if it is symmetrical, or if you can make it
symmetrical in one move. If this is true, you can proceed to win. If you don't
understand the new pattern, or if you know it's a losing proposition, transport
in again to see a new pattern.

TessellationPawns

To
find the Tessellation puzzle, start at the Beach Bowling and turn right five
times.

From Merriam Webster:
Tessellation:a :
MOSAIC

b : a
covering of an infinite geometric plane without gaps or overlaps by congruent
plane figures of one type or a few types.

Here's one complete element of the repeating pattern:

Eight Pawns:

First of all, Pawns can only move forward. The white
ones are yours. If a Pawn is sitting on the first row, it has the option of
moving one square or two squares. If it is anywhere else, it can only move one
square.

Unlike a Chess game, these Pawns cannot capture one another. They can only
block. The object of this game is to take the last move
by blocking the opponent so he has no move.

As
a general strategy, save
your possible double-moves for last because they give you
flexibility. Block each opponent's Pawn with single moves whenever possible.

Key-PadLinks

Somewhere along the trail, you picked up this crumpled piece of paper.

It
is a clue to help you figure out the combination to this keypad on what looks
like it used to be an anvient Foman fountain:

To
find the clue, start at the Beach Bowling and turn right seven times. Then F9.
To get to the fountain from the clue, go B, R, F2, L, F2, R.
To get to the clue from the fountain, go L, B2, R, B2, L, F.

Did
you already solve the Numerical Sequences puzzle? If so, you have a pretty good
idea how to figure out the correct number. Figure out how the numbers are
generated, then come up with the next one in sequence. Here's the answer:

The
numbers are generated by multiplying each sucessive one by increasing integers.

One, times two, times three, etc. (You could use your Windows calculator.)

Finally, times 7. The result is:
720 * 7 = 5040

Links

As usual, you want to plan your moves in this game in
order to have the last move. Sometimes you get the opportunity to win in one
move! What you are looking for, is a path containing an
odd number of steps, leading to a dead-end. At times,
there is no such path, and you must try to create one as you make your way
across the board. The computer is pretty smart, and will always make the best
choice. There will be times when you get trapped, and there is nothing you can
do about it.

DominoesPaint Cans

To
find this puzzle, start at the Beach Bowling and turn right seven times. Then
F8, R, F2, L, F2, L. Pull the lever to switch on the power, and turn left.

The
object of this puzzle is to remove the blocks in pairs by clicking where like
colors meet. Try to plan ahead so that removal of a pair will result in two more
similar colors bumping together. The arrangement is random each time you start.

For
example, in the above arrangement, see the two orange blocks in the middle?
Clicking there will take out the blue-orange and orange-green dominoes. That
will allow the purple-red and red-blue ones to abut. Then if you take those two
out, the purple-purple and purple-orange ones will meet.

The
point is, study the arrangement a little before you start clicking away, and
plan it a little.

Twenty-Seven Gallons

The
objective is to have the last move. That also means exactly filling the vessel
with 27, no more, no less.

The
paint-cans are arranged according to capacity. The nearest row of cans are 5
gallons (or pints, or liters, or gills, or flagons, or cups, whatever) - then
four, then three, then two, and finally one.

The
computer selects a container at random for the first move. Then it is up to you
to choose quantities that will lead to you having control over the last two
moves. What you should strive for is to fill the container to 21, leaving
exactly six remaining. That way, the computer must choose anything from one to
five, leaving you in range to fill it on your next move.

As
it was in the Nim game, keeping multiples of six in mind gives you an advantage.
So, if the opponent puts in four to start with, you should add two, making six.

Oops, it's not quite that simple, if one of the rows of cans happens to be used
up and it's the one you need. For example it has gone: 4/2, 3/3, 3/3. Now the
total is 18, and you would like to put in three to make 21, but the 3's are all
used. You don't want to pour in 4 or 5, then the computer will be able to reach
27 exactly. Try putting in one, and see what happens.

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